The VVP Pantanal Visit to U.S. Wetlands
Aug 25 - Sep 4, 2002

EPI is very pleased to announce a partnership with the South American Environmental Hub of the United States Department of State to organize a Pantanal Visit to U.S. Wetlands.  This activity, sponsored in part by the U.S. Voluntary Visitor Program, will enable eleven participants from the Pantanal watershed in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay to visit renowned environmental institutions and restoration projects in the United States, in the regions of the Florida Everglades and the Chesapeake Bay.

During the visit, participants will also exchange views and expertise with colleagues and decision-makers involved in sustainable environmental management in the United States.

The longer-term goal is to strengthen an exchange of information and research coordination between U.S. institutions, primarily those involved with the restoration of the Florida Everglades, and their counterparts involved in the conservation of the South American Pantanal.

Agenda and Themes

The group visit was carried out between August 25 and September 4, 2002.   The program included visits, one-to-one exchanges, and workshops with U.S. federal agencies, the Organization of American States, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions.   The itinerary was carried out in a 2-week tour of the following places:

Washington, DC – Business and technical meetings with Federal agencies, national environmental groups, and other interested Chesapeake Bay – Technical visit to Chesapeake Bay Restoration sites and institutions involved in land use and nutrient retention activities in the watershed; Florida Everglades – Technical visit to Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades System restoration sites and Everglades National Park.  1-day workshop with the assistance of CERP-RECOVER group, National Park Service,  and the Florida Center for Environmental Studies.

Salt marshes in Chesapeake Bay

Criteria for Participant Selection

The criteria to invite participants to join the group was established by the Embassies in the respective countries on the basis already in place for the Voluntary Visitors Program.  In addition, the participants were encouraged to participate in a longer-term formal exchange of information and promotion of joint activities through the EPI.   This includes, at the outset, to participate in pre-trip discussions; prepare a presentation of his/her particular endeavors in regard to Pantanal activities that are necessary for sustainable management (whether they include research, adoption of best management practices, environmental education and promotion of public participation); to write a post-trip report that would be compiled and commented by EPI; and to continue involved in the discussions that may arise from the U.S. exchange and workshops held during this activity.

As a result, the group was conformed as follows:

Bolivia:

Mr. Rolando Castedo Soruco, Deputy to the Bolivian Congress, and Member of the Environment Commission;
Mr. Jorge Landivar Cabruja, Director of the Natural Reserve Area of San Matias, National Park Service (SERNAP); and
Mr. Luis Marcus, Director of Otuquis National Park, National Park Service (SERNAP)

Brazil:

Ms. Synara O. Broch, Water Resources Specialist of the Secretariat of Environment of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul;
Mr. Antônio R. Ioris, Manager of Water Resources, Pantanal Program of the Ministry of Environment;
Ms. Leonice Lotufo, Coordinator for Applied Research of the Directorate of Water Resources, State Foundation for the Environment, State of Mato Grosso; and
Dr. Paulo Teixeira de Sousa Jr., Executive Secretary of the Pantanal Research Center and Vice-Chancellor for Research of the Mato Grosso Federal University.

Paraguay:

Ms. Patricia Abed de Vera, Environmental Lawyer of Environmental Law and Economics Institute (IDEA);
Dr. Fátima Miereles, botanist and environmental researcher of National University of Asunción;
Ms. Carolina Pedroso Silva, Environment Coordinator and Ramsar National Committee Chair, National Secretariat for the Environment.

South America Environmental Hub, Dept. of State:

Mr. F. Andrew Dowdy, Environment Hub Manager

Everglades Pantanal Initiative:

Mr. Alberto J, Palombo, EPI Coordinator; and
Ms. Maria do Carmo Zinato, Program Coordinator.

The participants are involved in activities of environmental management or decision-making in the Upper Paraguay River Basin (that contains the Pantanal).  Also, the group was multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary in order to discuss during the visit the different aspects involved with integrated wetlands management.  

As anticipated, there was a larger sub-group from Brazil due to the relative advanced stage of the Programa Pantanal and the GEF Alto Paraguay and their on-going participation in EPI.

Additional Information

The EPI Coordinator traveled to Florida on February and June 2002 to met with possible host institutions that expressed interest in arranging technical visits for this group and formalizing future exchanges within the context of EPI.  In general, the Florida institutions contacted have previous experience hosting visitors arranged by the International Visitors Program.  However, due to the nature of this proposal, additional arrangements might be necessary to guarantee the success of the exchange.  One of the main topics addressed was language barriers.  When the exchanges occur through the Internet and short visits, this becomes a minor detail.  For the organization of a workshop in which both parties (U.S. and Pantanal) be mutually benefited, a translator will be very helpful.   The institutions contacted in Florida were:

• National Park Service - Everglades National Park

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Waterways Experiment Station

• South Florida Water Management District

• Municipal and County Environmental Departments

• Florida Center for Environmental Studies / Florida Atlantic University

• University of Miami - Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

All these institutions are intimately involved in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).  In particular, the CERP Resource Coordination and Verification (RECOVER) is very interested in the exchange.  This group is currently developing a "RECOVER Card" which includes the development of bio- and socio-economic indicators for the Everglades Restoration effort - an activity that is also very needed for the efforts in the Pantanal (in the context of the Upper Paraguay basin).  RECOVER is composed of representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Florida Water Management District, as well as other federal and state agencies, tribal groups, and universities.

In addition, previous contacts included the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Agency for International Development.  We can approach those institutions located in the Washington, DC area once your local International Visitor Program liaison had made the initial contact.  

The technical visit will be preceded by information exchanges through the Internet between participants in the EPI in Florida (mostly technical) and those proposed participants in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.  CES can assist in setting up the discussion lists, and each participant will be required to write proposals that could help the ongoing efforts for environmental conservation/restoration and management in the Pantanal region, using a holistic, multi-disciplinary, integrated basin or ecosystem approach.

During the visit in Florida, we are proposing to hold a one-and-half-day seminar or workshop with the assistance of the South Florida Water Management District and the RECOVER group, and facilitated by the Florida Center for Environmental Studies (CES).  This seminar will allow a person-to-person discussion of issues of common interest to the Everglades, Chesapeake and the Pantanal ecosystems, as well as planning future activities to strengthen the EPI exchange (please refer to the group reports 2 and 3 of the EPI Annual Report: A Systematic Comparison of the Pantanal and Everglades Ecosystems, and Scientific and Resource Management Exchange, respectively.)  Participants from other U.S. regions are welcomed and encouraged to participate in the proposed workshop at their own expense.  During the workshop, the participants will choose Co-Chairs (one from U.S., one from the Pantanal) to coordinate interactions during the workshop and afterwards (such as the elaboration of proceedings and follow-up of tasks jointly agreed).

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